Gail Berenson is active as a performing pianist and is also a nationally renowned lecturer on musician-wellness issues. Well-respected as a pedagogue, she was the 1999 recipient of the Ohio Music Teachers Association's "Certified Teacher of the Year" award, and the 2000 Ohio University "Distinguished Teacher of the Year" award, where she is Professor of Piano and Chair of the Keyboard Division.
Jacqueline Csurgai-Schmitt received her B.M. from Honors College at Michigan State University and M.M. from Indiana University. After developing a repetitive stress injury in her right hand from piano playing, she underwent intensive physical therapy and retraining. In addition to a full performing schedule, Ms. Csurgai-Schmitt is actively involved with promoting efficient movement at the piano
William DeVan received his B.M. and M.M. degrees from The Juilliard School, and continued his studies at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Hannover, Germany, where he received the Konzertexamen Diploma. The winner of the first prize in the Vianna da Motta International Piano Competition, Mr. Devan currently serves as Artist-in-Residence at Birmingham-Southern College and maintains an extensive international performing career.
Dr. Mitchell Elkiss, D.O., is a graduate of the Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine. Currently in the private practice of neurology, osteopathic manipulative medicine, and medical acupuncture, Dr. Elkiss is also the chairman of the post-graduate program in myofascial release technique at MSU-COM.
Seymour Fink has authored numerous articles and the highly acclaimed book and video, Mastering Piano Technique, published by Amadeus Press. Presently retired from Binghamton University and living in Columbus, Ohio, he continues to lecture throughout the country and teach piano as an adjunct professor at Capital University and part-time lecturer at The Ohio State University.
Phyllis Alpert Lehrer is Professor of Piano at Westminster Choir College of Rider University where she directs the graduate program in piano pedagogy. She is an active performer, teacher, author, clinician, and adjudicator. Ms. Lehrer is also a founding member of the International Society for the Study of Tension in Performance and is the national chair of the College Faculty Forum for Music Teachers National Association.
Barbara Lister-Sink, producer of Freeing the Caged Bird – Developing Well-Coordinated, Injury-Preventative Piano Technique, was the recipient of the Music Teachers National Association Frances Clark Keyboard Pedagogy Award for 2002. Currently Artist-in-Residence at Salem College, she also taught on the artist faculty of the Eastman School of Music and was keyboardist in the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam.
Robert Mayerovitch is Professor of Piano and pianist of the Elysian Trio in residence at Baldwin-Wallace College, Berea, Ohio. He is an active clinician and lecturer on pedagogical topics, including a collection of musical, pianistic, and psychological aphorisms entitled Rules of Pianists' (and Other Animals') Thumbs, and was first prizewinner in the Bartók-Kabalevsky International Piano Competition.
Dr. Norman B. Rosen, M.D., is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland School of Medicine. One of the first to specialize in physical medicine and rehabilitation (physiatry) in the Baltimore area, he went on to establish one of the first multi-disciplinary pain clinics in Maryland. A pianist and competitive athlete, Dr. Rosen is was a featured speaker at the National Piano Pedagogy Conference in 1999.
Dylan Savage, Assistant Professor of Piano at University of North Carolina-C harlotte, holds D.M. and M.M. degrees in piano from Indiana University and a B.M. deg ree in piano from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. A pioneer in the application of sports-training techniques to piano practice and performance, Dr. Savage has presente d these concepts in Clavier.
